By David Nagel
When then Victorian Premier and Minister for Racing Denis Napthine presented the Pakenham Racing Club (PRC) with ‘Racecourse License 175’ on July 24, 2014, little did he realise the impact Victoria’s newest racecourse would have on the racing industry.
The new course, built on 608-acres on Nar Nar Goon-Longwarry Road, replaced the 60-acre racetrack that the PRC had officially called home since 1926.
With Racing Victoria set to slash the annual number of race meetings at the historical Racecourse Road facility back to six, the PRC was about to become an almost irrelevant member of the racing scene.
But an ambitious plan was hatched, to purchase family farmland from the Knights and Sweeneys and build Victoria’s first new racetrack in almost 40 years.
That dream has now turned into an amazing reality, with the PRC’s sparkling new home setting a benchmark for industry standards; becoming the workhorse for Victorian racing on 9.5 hectares of the best racing surface in Australia.
On Thursday 26 March, 2015, the Robbie-Griffiths-trained Faction won the opening race on the first meeting at the track; an event which attracted a stunning crowd of 6000 patrons.
A pessimistic view from many in the racing industry had been quelled; while those with positive thoughts on the move had been justified.
One of the biggest supporters of the relocation was race-caller Terry Bailey, who had trudged through a then building site almost two years before the first race meeting was held.
“I remember it like it was yesterday…it was a bog the first time I saw it,” Bailey said, with his characteristic chuckle.
But that muddy first impression could not dampen or diminish Bailey’s enthusiasm for the project; which had been embedded into his psych by the then PRC Chief Executive.
“I was a huge advocate because of Michael Hodge (CEO) and because of the club; they told me their ambitions while I was calling at the old track at Pakenham one day,” Bailey said.
“He told me they had a plan, and that no one wanted to back them, and they needed someone in the media to help them.
“When he first told me I thought ‘wow, you’re crazy, this is huge’; because I’ve only seen one track built in recent times and that was at the Sunshine Coast, Corbould Park.
“It was a huge undertaking and they were going out in the middle of nowhere; but the positivity and professionalism of Michael Hodge and the whole team was amazing.
“I went along for the ride with them and did their media stuff on TVN as it was back then; and I’ve been very close to the club ever since.
“Everyone doubted it, everyone said it was going to be a big white elephant in the middle of nowhere; and as the track started to take shape, it was either going to be a disaster or fantastic…no in between.
“The club did everything themselves, they educated themselves on track size and the best surface, they were totally committed.
“Their enthusiasm for the job, which was a huge job, a herculean undertaking, was amazing.”
Champion jockey Damien Oliver declared the new track at Tynong “the best track I’ve ever ridden on” after the opening meeting, 10 years ago to the day, a claim made earlier at other tracks around the nation by Oliver’s contemporaries.
“Damien said that on day one: I remember when Randwick was up and running in 2000, when they put the brand-new track in; Glen Boss got off and said this is like a bowling green, the best track I’ve ever seen,” Bailey recalled.
“Four months later it was gone.
“Pakenham has never been gone; Pakenham has always been good.
“For 10 years it has always been a great track and jockeys and trainers all say the same thing.”
Bailey was inspired by the courage of the PRC committee; who chose the bravest of two options.
“They had no future there (the old track); you either make a bold move or you die on the vine,” Bailey explained.
“There was a need for a big track, and what they did was build the best track in Australia.
“I’ve called at all tracks, Eagle Farm, Flemington, Randwick, Rosehill, Doomben, Gold Coast; and the 1200-metre start point is the best 1200-metre start point of any track in Australasia.
“No matter if a horse draws one or 16, you can still win.
“To go and do something like that, and nail it in one go…is unbelievable.
“Then they go and put a synthetic track in that is the size of most big tracks in Australia.
“Synthetic tracks have always been a bit of a negative with punters and trainers, but that wasn’t the case at Pakenham because its turnover was astronomical.
“It’s the best synthetic track that Australia has ever had.
“And the scary thing is…it’s only going to expand and get bigger and better than what it is today.
“They have set the highest benchmark in Australian racing for getting the track right.”
Bailey said the importance of the track at Pakenham, now under the banner of Southside Racing, should not be underestimated.
“It is massively important, and particularly since we’ve gone into night racing; which we’re now racing on a world class track,” he said.
“This is a prestigious track in Australian racing and it sits in the South East of Melbourne, where racing is humming because of the efforts of Neil Bainbridge (Southside Racing CEO).
“He’s clearly the best administrator I’ve seen in my career; and I’ve been doing this since I was 13 years old.
“They wanted a future; and now it’s not only the future of Tynong or Pakenham; it’s the future of Victorian racing.
“That’s how impressive the whole thing has become.”
